Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic await fate in Champions League last 16 draw

Nine former winners of the competition are in the hat for the knockout stages, though only five of the teams involved got as far as this point in last season's tournament

All eyes will be on Nyon on Thursday as the cream of European football are pitted against each other in the Champions League round of 16 draw.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Celtic make up the remaining British contingent after Chelsea and Manchester City were eliminated in the group stage.

The Red Devils and the Scottish Premier League champions join Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, Porto, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich as past winners of the competition and will be vying to do so again.

And with Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donetsk, Valencia, Malaga, Galatasaray and Schalke also in the supporting cast, we are sure to be treated to a number of mouthwatering ties.

The eight group winners will be drawn against the sides who finished as runners-up and will have the luxury of playing at home for the second leg of the tie. At this stage, teams from the same country will not be able to play against each other.

Premier League runners-up United could be paired with nine-times-winners Madrid or could be involved in another "Battle of Britain" with Celtic.

Meanwhile, Arsenal finished second in their group so could face big-spending PSG or Spanish giants Barcelona in the last 16.

Matters are made more interesting by the fact that three of the former champions - Madrid, Milan and Porto - all finished second in their respective groups and will be drawn against a seeded team in the knockout stages.

The first legs of the last-16 ties will take place on February 12/13 and 19/20, with the return legs scheduled for March 5/6 and 12/13.

The draw starts at 10.30GMT on Thursday and you can follow it via Goal.com UK's LIVE! blog, which will be accessible through the homepage.

The Europa League draw will follow at 13.00GMT and will include Premier League sides Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and Tottenham who all made it safely through the group stages.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool are seeded but could face defending champions Atletico Madrid, Inter or Ajax who are all in the unseeded pot.

The draw for the last 16 will follow the initial draw with last-32 ties due to take place on February 14 and 21.